Addressing food insecurity
The Ballarat Foundation funds and supports local initiatives aimed at addressing the root causes of food insecurity.
food insecurity in ballarat
Food insecurity occurs when individuals or families lack access to sufficient, nutritious food needed for a healthy and active life. It’s not just about hunger, it’s about missing meals, skipping essentials to afford food, or relying on emergency relief to get by.
The Alarming Rise in Food Insecurity
In Victoria, food insecurity rose from 33.5% in 2022 to 35% in 2023. Today:
- 27% of families rely on formal food relief services
- 22% of Victorians have had to seek support from friends or family in the past year
These figures highlight the growing pressure on households, especially those already facing financial strain.
Although specific data for Ballarat isn’t available, our community’s SEIFA disadvantage score of 4 indicates that 60% of other communities in Australia are better off socio-economically. This strongly suggests that cost-of-living pressures are impacting many families across our region.
Ballarat Vital Signs Report 2025
Findings from the report show that while food insecurity has eased slightly since 2022, many Ballarat households are still struggling to afford regular, nutritious meals.
Severe food stress has dropped but remains higher than before the pandemic, and demand for community meals and relief services continues to grow. Food security is about more than access to meals, it’s about dignity, stability and wellbeing. Continued support and collaboration are essential to ensure every household in Ballarat has reliable access to nutritious food.
snapshot
Food stress is stubborn
The Ballarat Vital Signs 2025 report explores the complex picture of food security in our community. The data shows encouraging progress, with severe food insecurity dropping in recent years
our response: tackling the root cause
The Ballarat Foundation funds and supports local initiatives aimed at addressing the root causes of food insecurity. The fund was created to build community capacity, and create long-term change through connection, skills, choice and pathways out of crisis. The Foundation supports projects that strengthen wrap-around support for individuals and families experiencing food insecurity and initiatives that build food literacy and other skills that improve food access.
Your donation to the Feed Ballarat Fund helps ensures that everyone in our community has the skills and knowledge to access to the nourishment they need to thrive.
Significant change stories
Food insecurity and social connection
Food relief initiatives alleviate immediate stresses and help build social connection, but more is needed........
feed ballarat Fund
Every donation helps achieve programs that go beyond emergency food relief and come up with local solutions to sustainable food systems and skills development for individuals and families experiencing food instability.
Food insecurity in the news
We work on Wadawurrung land
The Ballarat Foundation acknowledges the Wadawurrung people, the traditional owners of the lands and waterways in our region. We recognise their diversity, resilience, and the ongoing place that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people hold in our communities. We pay our respects to the Elders, both past and present, and commit to working together in the spirit of mutual understanding, respect and reconciliation.
The Ballarat Foundation is committed to fostering a diverse, equitable and inclusive community where everyone is welcomed, respected and empowered to thrive.